


No Silver

by indigold



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Music, Alternate Universe - Real World, Escapism, Folk Music, Indie Music, M/M, References to Music, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, Somewhat, Songwriting, lots of local references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-08 05:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8831572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigold/pseuds/indigold
Summary: Two days after playing in an open mic night in downtown Ann Arbor, Yuuri Katsuki gets a phone call from Victor Nikiforov, of all people. Victor Nikiforov, who was somehow there and wants to write with him, play with him, make a record.But what could Yuuri possibly have that one of indie music’s fastest-rising dark horses could want? Yuuri’s songs don’t even have lyrics. What could Victor possibly see in him, out of all the dime-a-dozen guitar players in Metro Detroit?This is a dream, right?(A songwriter au told in short vignettes that just incidentally involves coffeeshops, and directly involves lots of music references, learning to find one's voice, and love.)





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> wow okay hi I have been holding this au in my heart and I can't hold it no more.
> 
> I'm sorry this is so short. I don't really have it in me to write long-form these days.
> 
> fic title comes from "No Silver" by Chris Bathgate, around whom I basically modeled Victor's persona in this au.

“ _Oh my god, look who just walked in.”_

_“Is that Nikiforov? He just played Joshua Tree, didn’t he? He’s been gone a while...”_

_“Oh, that's right. It sounds like he's been taking a break since he got back from Cali.”_

 

“Victor!” Victor smiled at the sound of his friend’s voice. An old friend from the area and a musician himself, Christophe “Valentine” Giacometti was one of Victor’s main connections whenever he was in town. “Glad you could make it out.”

“Of course. Are you going on, or are you running this..?” Victor asked, gesturing with a nod of his head toward the stage. Chris grinned and shrugged. “Both, but I'm not going up yet. Not til later. You want a slot? I doubt anyone would mind.” Victor shook his head.

“Not tonight. I've been working on some new stuff, but it's just not… ready.”

“Not even open mic ready?” Victor shook his head. “It's missing something. You know how I am.”

Chris whistled. “I won't make you go up if you don't think it's ready to show people, but that's what's open mics are for, you know…?”

Victor shrugged. “Who's going on right now?” he asked, changing the subject. Chris nodded at the bespectacled Japanese man coming up on stage.

“Him? Oh, that's Yuuri. He's been coming for a while now... I'm surprised you haven't seen him here before. Come on, let me get you a drink.”

* * *

 

Yuuri's hands were shaking.

They often shook like this before he went on. He always refused to drink before he played, because he was certain his accuracy would suffer if he did, but what he wouldn't have given for something to calm the jitters he always got beforehand.

They always went away as soon as he took the stage, however.

Yuuri chalked it up to channeling his nervous energy into his playing, accepted that the reason his hands shook was because they needed strings. He did fine enough live; in fact, he often had a way of just getting lost in his guitar and letting the music out.

Yuuko, a friend of his from the music department in college, told him once that he sounded like he made worlds with his music. "I could listen to it all day, it's so hypnotic! I feel like I just came out of a painting when the song ends."

Yuuri sighed as he plucked a few notes, testing the mic trained on the soundhole of his guitar. Then he took a deep breath and began to play, and the world around him began to fall away.

Unbeknownst to him, that world included a silver-haired man in the audience, watching from under a beanie at the bar, wide-eyed as though he were watching the birth of a universe.

* * *

 

The Thursday after that open mic started innocently enough, as though the day itself, as much as Yuuri, hadn't expected anything ridiculous to happen when it started.

But then Yuuri's bus had a problem on his way downtown, he ended up twenty minutes late for work, and a customer tripped and spilled their coffee all over him. Hot coffee.

All before lunch.

So when Yuuri got a call around quarter after six, it was understandable for him to be wary. He didn't recognize the number by a long shot. Whatever foolish urge it was that drove him to answer it after a day as bad as he’d had, he couldn’t put a name to it.

“Hello?”

“Hi! Is this Yuuri Katsuki?” Yuri’s brows furrowed. He’d heard this voice before, somewhere.

“Y...es... May I ask who’s calling?” he asked slowly.

“Oh! Right!” The man laughed. “My name is Viktor Nikiforov. I’m a friend of Valentine’s. I saw you play at his open mic night the other night. And wow.. I mean, wow.” Yuuri opened his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but Victor powered through. “I’ve got to play with you sometime, Yuuri. Are you playing any shows coming up? I’ve got a show this weekend but that’s my last one for a while.”

Yuuri had to stop him. “Come again?”

“I want to make music with you. Are you playing anywhere in the next couple weeks?”

On the other end of Yuuri’s phone call was _Victor Nikiforov._ Victor Nikiforov, one of folk music’s rising stars of the Midwest, who had not only somehow _been_ at Valentine’s open mic, but had been miraculously _impressed_ by Yuuri’s playing enough that the man had to track him down. _Personally_.

“I—I’m sorry, _what_?”

This was a dream, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOME FOOTNOTES:
> 
> \- Joshua Tree is a real music festival! Technically there are two of them, one in the spring and one in the fall. The one the people in the crowd are talking about is the fall festival.  
> \- I want Chris to have a sort of "that one guy in town who knows and is known by everyone" kind of vibe, and dumb nicknames happen in the local music scene of any place you look, right? I mean, look at Young Neil in Scott Pilgrim. That being said, a friend came up with Valentine because his birthday is Valentine's Day. I figured it was better than Swiss Chris. (You can all kill me now. Please.)
> 
> I've been putting together playlists to kind of flesh out their individual music styles! So expect some links when I post part two. Or maybe I'll post them in a comment on this one. I dunno.


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri had to be dreaming. He was sure of it.
> 
> He knew it wasn't a dream when Victor suddenly got honest. He wasn't expecting that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOPS it's funny how you can take a week or so to write one thing and one night to write another :' )
> 
> Here's part two! I promised links to playlists for each of the boys, links will be after the chapter ~

Yuuri had to be dreaming.

Here he was, sitting in a coffee shop in Nickels Arcade, across from what he’d quickly come to realize as the most lofty, yet passionate person he had ever met. Chatty as the day was long, but clearly Victor was here for _Yuuri_. The man had an intense way about him, but his expression was soft and warm. Inviting, even.

“So, Yuuri,” he murmured after going on a small tangent on why he loved this particular coffee shop, setting his cappuccino down gently. “Tell me about yourself. Where did you learn to play like that?”

Yuuri took a sip of his chai, free hand fidgeting on the hem of his sweater a little self-consciously. “Well…” he started. “I was originally a classical guitarist.”

Victor nodded, as though a puzzle piece had fit in a space like he expected. “That makes sense. It explains your fingerpicking style. Who taught you?”

“Celestino Cialdini.” Victor’s eyebrows shot up at that.

“I didn’t realize,” Victor began. Yuuri shook his head, smiling sheepishly. Yuuri was slightly uncomfortable under the amount of attention Victor was paying him, but he was becoming accustomed to the insane amount of energy the man himself exuded.

“I-I grew up here, and I guess it’s kind of a townie secret. Yeah, he settled down here in town after he walked away from Hollywood... He’s a regular at Zingerman’s, believe it or not.” Victor blinked a little, tilting his head.

“Okay, so you’re a townie, and you trained under Cialdini. Why folk music? Are you still training with him?” Yuuri shook his head again.

“We still talk, since he kind of became friends with my parents, but we… kind of drifted apart after I started college. I never stopped playing, I just… didn’t have time to meet with him for lessons.”

“What did you study?” Yuuri frowned at him, eyebrows furrowed.

“I… I don’t mean to be rude, but why does this feel like an interview?”

“Because I felt no sense of self in your music.”

Yuuri blinked, taken aback by the comment. Victor’s smile was still warm, but there was the cold edge of a challenge in his eyes, chilled by the years of experience Victor had over Yuuri. He didn’t know what to say that, and Victor seemed to suspect he wouldn’t, because he continued. “Your music is beautiful, Yuuri, and it got me fired up, but I couldn’t get any real feel of you as a person in your playing. I want to make music with you; I have to get to know you as a person too if we want to connect while we’re writing.”

Yuuri… understood, ultimately. He nodded slowly, taking the criticism gracefully. “I see.”

Victor smiled, ducking his head so their eyes would meet. “Don’t get me wrong, Yuuri,” he purred. “Your skills are top-notch, and your playing has a beautiful aesthetic to it. It’s like you… paint landscapes with your guitar, I guess is a good way to put it.” He straightened, picking his abandoned coffee back up and taking a sip. “But it’s like you let your guitar do all the talking for you. Do you ever write vocals for your songs?”

Yuuri shook his head, biting his lip as he gazed into his cup. It was a pronounced point of self consciousness for him that he couldn’t write lyrics. “I’m… I’m not really good at that kind of thing. Lyrics mean talking about your feelings, and I’m… that’s something I’m just not good at, I guess.”

He didn’t catch how Victor’s eyes softened as he traced the rim of his coffee cup with a gentle fingertip, or how his smile shrank slightly, but somehow became more heartfelt and _real_ in doing so.

“Does it have to stay that way?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> footnotes time!  
> \- I had always meant for Celestino to be Yuuri's classical guitar teacher. It felt right. The idea of him being some prolific Hollywood studio artist, however, came to me _literally_ while I was writing this chapter hahahahahah Anyway, yes, Celestino is famous for his work on Hollywood soundtracks, especially in westerns and action movies. He's pretty well known in the guitarist world. He left Hollywood during the writer's strike out of solidarity for the writer friends he'd made over the years and found he liked the quiet of the Midwest.  
>  \- I did say this was set in Ann Arbor! Nickels Arcade is a place, as is Zingerman's. Zingerman's is actually a group of places, and it's kind of one of the cornerstones of Ann Arbor's food culture. Barack Obama's been to the deli. Mario Batali loves the deli, so they named a sandwich after his son. I could go on and on about Zingerman's, seeing as I work there, but I'll just leave my ranting here. The temptation to write a scene at Zingerman's is painfully hard to resist, but I'll just wait until I either can't resist anymore, or I feel like it's a good time for it.
> 
> like i promised, i have playlists for the boys! these aren't like fanmixes really; just kind of aesthetic playlists that kind of help me write their points of view.
> 
> victor is [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLN28kejI8HsMbWPWgufgbAdSAbYk1DUw) and yuuri is [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLN28kejI8HtL1WLyszSKAcRPWAX-vFXW)! Enjoy ~


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri finds himself hopelessly caught up in the reality that Victor Nikiforov is very different when he's not playing a show, and Victor makes his motives known.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO FUN STORY FOR ALL Y'ALL.
> 
> You know how I mentioned Chris Bathgate around Part One? You know, how Victor's background in this universe is supposed to be kinda similar to his, and how a couple of Bathgate's songs are in Victor's playlist? The fact that this story is named after one of his songs?
> 
> Turns out that one of my coworkers knows him. Personally. First name basis. 
> 
> I'll tell y'all the story on the other side! Please to enjoy, and please take care of yourselves, since episode 11 sure didn't /cries into eternity

“Yuuri, do you mind playing this with me?”

Yuuri blinked as Victor pushed a piece of paper across the coffee table toward him, before reaching to pull his guitar from a stand. “I think your fingerstyle would go really well in the intro and the chorus. I originally kind of had an idea for some piano, but I think fingerpicking would sound good too. Can you try some of this out?”

Yuuri squinted at the page. “The chord progression looks easy enough...” Victor grinned, nodding as he started tuning his guitar, closing his eyes.

“Alright, so let me play what I’ve got so far, and maybe try coming in before the second verse?” Yuuri nodded, tuning his guitar as well, and shifting in the cheap chair in Victor’s living room to get ready to play.

He was still having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he was sitting in Victor’s living room, as well as the fact that he was basically here for a _jam session_ of all things.

With Victor Nikiforov. Right. This was somehow actually happening. _Right_.

But then Victor took a breath, and Yuuri was suddenly drawn in by the movements of Victor’s hands, the expression on his face as he began to play.

Yuuri had been to some of Victor’s shows, sure, and watched a good majority of the videos he’d put out over time, but it paled in comparison to watching him in such close quarters. His face not washed out by stage lights, but graced by the Monday afternoon sunlight coming in from the window next to him. His hands, not just digital and recreated on his computer screen on Youtube, but flesh and bone, graceful fingers moving across the fretboard as he changed chords.

Victor wasn’t some mythical being, some revered musical deity of the Midwest that only graced stages and Youtube videos with his creation. He was a man, real and solid, who simply had the ability to make the space he needed in order to fill it with music. Yuuri felt enclosed in this space, sitting so close that he could see the strings of his guitar vibrating when Victor’s pick struck them.

It was different from any other time Yuuri had spent with another musician, and Victor’s energy had taken hold of Yuuri.

“Yuuri?”

At least, until he remembered that Victor had also asked him to play.  
  
He shook his head furiously, face turning pink as Victor smiled at him. “I-I’m sorry, I just— I’ve never—”

Victor, for his part, didn’t seem annoyed or unhappy. “No, it’s okay. Playing with another person takes getting used to.” Yuuri shook his head.

“No, I mean… It’s different, seeing you play up close...”

Victor sighed, as if this was something he was used to hearing, that he was weary of. As if (though understandably) Victor had a common problem with people being unable to see past _what_ he was for _who_ he was. “Yuuri…”

But Yuuri was quick to clarify. “I— I mean, it’s different. Different from seeing you at a show or something. But it’s… it’s just something to get used to, that’s all.” He _really_ didn’t need Victor thinking of him as just some starstruck fan. He wanted to work _past_ that. He was beyond honored that Victor wanted to work with him, but he had to let go of the part of him that was just eager to be here if they were going to get anything done.

“Victor?” “Hmm?” Victor had let the neck of his guitar rest on his thigh, his chin in his palm.

“Why am I here? What do you get out of having me write with you?” Victor sat up at that, the headstock of the guitar bobbing as he smoothly crossed one leg over the other. The look he gave Yuuri was electrifying.

“A connection.” “Huh?” Victor leaned in again, smiling now, open and enthusiastic.

“I make music to connect with my audience, Yuuri. I want people to understand who I am through my music, even if a song isn’t necessarily about me. But you… you’re a mystery. I thought so the second you started playing at that open mic. I knew I had to meet you, at the very least. I thought if I was going to get through to you, get to know who you are, then it had to be through music. And imagine what kind of songs we’ll make as a result. Think of how you and I could touch an audience if you opened up a little. It’s exciting to think about, isn’t it?”

Yuuri at first wondered how Victor hadn’t ended up a music teacher himself. But Victor’s words were reverberating in his head, and Yuuri eventually looked back up at him. The way Victor had lit up at Yuuri’s question hadn’t abated, and he found himself arrested by the spark in those sea glass eyes. The way passion glittered in the blues and greens tugged at Yuuri’s heart.

 _Oh_.

Numbly, Yuuri somehow heard himself next asking Victor, “You mean, you actually want to p-perform with me? And record and stuff?”

Victor laughed, but it was fond and not mocking. “Yes, Yuuri. That was kind of the plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (the word Yuuri is looking for is 'intimate', in case anyone didn't know /insert shouting seal meme)
> 
> SO ANYWAY I was like, super pumped about this fic at work yesterday after posting part two, and I was telling this coworker about it, even though he doesn't know YOI and basically doesn't get it, but was being supportive and definitely got how excited I was about it.
> 
> "So, one of the main characters, Victor, is supposed to be kind of like Chris Bathgate in this world."
> 
> "You know Chris?" "UHHHHH NOT LIKE, PERSONALLY, I'VE BEEN TO SOME OF HIS SHOWS I MEAN"
> 
> It turns out that Bathgate also teaches for U of M's New England Literature program (kind of a literature program/wilderness sabbatical kind of thing?), which my coworker took. He told me this adorable story about how the first day Chris came into their cabin in the morning with his guitar and serenaded them. By all accounts, the dude is just a lovely person, my roommate also has told me about some of her interactions with him that supports this opinion. BUT THEN.
> 
> "You should tell him about it!" "OH GOD NO DUDE NEVER" "I think he'd be flattered!" "YOU REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF WHAT I DO"
> 
> I promptly died. Like, seriously died of embarrassment for this prospective me that would tell someone that my gay fanfiction is inspired by their music. Like, I'm crying guys, what even.
> 
> Anyway, no real footnotes this time! Thanks for reading ~ Looking forward to your comments! <3


	4. Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small breakthroughs are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone had a good holiday! I'm sorry I kinda dropped off for a bit. Christmas was very stressful for me, but I'm going to try to pick back up. I have a really hectic month ahead of me, but I've managed to write a lot of these chapters in small bursts of time before bed so I think I can manage. Washicon is coming up, I have a choir concert the same night, and the weekend before, I'm going to go see my new sweetie. <3 
> 
> You, uh, heard that right, guys... I've got a new sweetheart! It's adorable, we really kind of bonded over the journey that has been this show and they're the Yuuri to my Victor. They're the best and I adore them and their face is probably Yuuri red right now as they read this. They've kind of been getting the chapters before you guys all along, even before we started dating, so... try not to be too jealous, okay? ~
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

“No… No, no, no,” Victor said, setting his guitar down and sighing.

They had been spending a lot of time together over the past few weeks. Yuuri had hit a stretch of work schedule wherein he mostly didn’t close, so they often met up after he clocked out. They didn’t always practice; Victor had been serious about wanting to get to know Yuuri, so sometimes they met up for coffee in Kerrytown near Victor’s apartment, or Victor would drag him to Literati to look at books. And then up the stairs to the Espresso Bar for more coffee. Yuuri had quickly realized why Victor was so animated and energetic all the time.

Today was a practice day and their progress with the song they had pulled out was _slow_ . Victor was feeling it too, Yuuri could tell. They were both getting frustrated, but regardless of if or how Victor vocalized it, Yuuri had spent too much time with the man to not notice how the man seemed to push himself into it, how he gripped his pencil tighter, the hardness in his eyes as he pored over the pages. The chord progression they had worked out sounded _good,_ but the lyrics didn't seem to fit right. They started to try changing chords one at a time and that was when things really went sideways.

Victor ran a hand through his hair with a frown. “None of these chords are working…” he began, then paused, thinking for a moment. He looked up at Yuuri after a long, quiet minute. That critical edge had crept into the look in his eyes. “Maybe it's not the chord progression. Could you play something with that chord progression? Maybe it's the rhythm. Or we just need to rework the lyrics.”

Yuuri paused. “The original chords we had before?” Victor nodded.

“B minor, D, G, that one.”

Yuuri nodded, taking up his guitar again, shifting slightly. “Any pattern in particular?” Victor shook his head. “No… Do whatever you feel.” Yuuri nodded mutely, taking a slow breath before starting to play.

It was strange trying to focus on playing the way he normally did, but he started picking out a rhythm, and he was able to get into his playing. As the picking rhythm began to flow steadily, he started to really get comfortable, and eventually he fell into his zone.

He had seen the lyrics, clearly, but Yuuri didn’t concern himself with trying to fit any rhythm for vocals into what he was playing. He experimented, let the picking pattern shift occasionally, shifting the rhythm of the chord progression, trying to see if Victor liked something.

He had been playing for several minutes and realized that Victor still hadn’t said anything.

Yuuri opened his eyes, unaware that he had closed them, and looked up at the man sitting across from him. He was a little unnerved by the look in his eyes. It was that same passionate spark he had seen the first time they took their guitars out together weeks ago, but different somehow. Where the spark burned in his eyes before, simmered as though the heat of his gaze had been tempered and galvanized. Victor was watching him keenly and appraisingly, one finger lifted to his lips as though he needed to staunch the words that were waiting to come out until Yuuri was ready to hear them.

“I think I see where the problem lies.” Yuuri blinked.

“With the song?”  
“With your playing.” Yuuri swallowed hard, nodding mutely to let him speak.

“You get so into the music that you get yourself lost and escape into it. Your style is beautiful and draws people in, but then you get sucked into it yourself. Music is meant to express yourself, not to be hidden in. I guess it’s… inoffensive wouldn’t be inaccurate. That’s why I couldn’t really get a sense of your personality the first time I saw you.”

Yuuri felt the sting in Victor’s word choice, but offended or no, he supposed it made sense. “I… see.” Victor failed to stifle a laugh.

“You said you’re not big on expressing your feelings, right? You’ve got a weird way of showing it, Yuuri,” he concluded. He reached up to put a hand on Yuuri’s arm, either not noticing or ignoring the way the casual touch lent Yuuri’s cheeks a wash of warmth. “Don’t worry about it too much,” Victor chimed consolingly. “It’s something we can work on, at least. I’m not going to force you to write half the songs we put out, or make you write the lyrics anyway.” Yuuri nodded numbly, still stuck on the word ‘inoffensive’. Victor’s eyes got bright again, and he clapped the younger man gently on the shoulder.

“I have an idea. Come to the Blind Pig with me tonight. Valentine’s band is playing." “Huh? Are they?”

“Yeah. I want to show you something.”


End file.
